Author: Presh Williams

Bird Box is a brand new video-on-demand platform, focused on curating worthwhile, thought-provoking, conversation-starting, award-winning, critically-acclaimed films. They handpick titles worthy of your attention and send them to your inbox once a week.

Here are five 5 must-watch documentaries to get you started.

Deep Web

Deep Web is a 2015 documentary film directed by Alex Winter, chronicling events surrounding Silk Road, bitcoin and politics of the dark web. The feature documentary that explores the rise of a new Internet; decentralised, encrypted, dangerous and beyond the law; with particular focus on the FBI capture of the Tor hidden service Silk Road, and the judicial aftermath.

Elián

Elián recounts the story of a Cuban boy named Elián González who, on Thanksgiving Day in 1999, was found floating on an inner tube in the Florida Straits, an event that set in motion a bitter custody battle between Elián’s Cuban father and US relatives. Set to the backdrop of a tense and acrimonious relationship between the US and Cuba, the documentary features a wealth of contemporary news archive and gives unprecedented access to key players in the saga, including an exclusive interview with the boy himself, now a 23-year old man.

Project Nim

Project Nim is a 2011 British documentary film. It focuses on Project Nim, a research project that was mounted in the 1970s to determine whether a primate raised in close contact with humans could develop a limited “language” based on American Sign Language. Equal parts hilarious, poignant, and heartbreaking, Project Nim not only tells a compelling story masterfully but also raises the flag on the darker side of human nature.

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

In Gore Vidal’s America, the political coup has already happened. In this film, Gore Vidal’s acerbic, opinionated and informed approach rips away at the facade of the new America. Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia is a 2013 documentary film about the life and career of author Gore Vidal. Anchored by intimate one-on-one interviews with the man himself, Nicholas Wrathall’s new documentary is a fascinating and wholly entertaining portrait of the last lion of the age of American liberalism.

The Last Animals

The Last Animals is a story about an extraordinary group of people who go to incredible lengths to save the planet’s last animals. The documentary follows the conservationists, scientists and activists battling poachers and criminal networks to protect elephants and rhinos from extinction. From Africa’s front lines to behind the scenes of Asian markets to the United States, the film takes an intense look at the global response to this slaughter and the desperate measures to genetically rescue the Northern White rhinos who are on the edge of extinction.

Dr Parvinder Shergill is a psychiatrist working within the National Health Service, she is also an actor, writer, producer & director. In her interview with us she discussed mental health portrayal in films, the Covid-19 pandemic, her acting journey and upcoming projects.

Dr Parvinder Shergill (The Secret Psychiatrist) is a psychiatrist working within the National Health Service, she is also an actor, writer & producer. In her interview with us, she discussed mental health portrayal in films, the Covid-19 pandemic, her acting journey and upcoming projects.(apologies for any issues with sound)

Cinema Showtime, an Indiegogo crowdfunding multi-media project designed to reunite film fans following the Coronavirus lockdown, has launched. They will be working in partnership with MediCinema, the charity that brings the magic of film to hospitals.

Cinema Showtime is a project that is looking forward to a time when restrictions are lifted further and we can start doing what we love again; going to the pictures. It is looking forward to a time when we can watch re-scheduled movies that we have been waiting to see for months on the big screen with our mates. The current guidelines suggest that we can expect to see cinemas reopen to the public on July 4th – perhaps that will be our own Independence Day.

What the Cinema Showtime project involves:

Production and distribution of a free glossy magazine, written by film experts and packed with the ultimate preview of every movie being released between November 2020 and August 2021. This will include the latest release dates, info, features, interviews and more.

Staging a one-off, live event in a prominent London venue called Cinema Showtime Live! that fans and contributors will be invited to attend. This will include a fan lottery with incredible prizes and money can’t buy merchandise and experiences.

Creating an online site and newsletter that celebrates the return of cinema with up-to-the-minute news and info.

Producing unique and exclusive merchandise to tie in with the event and film releases.

Cinema Showtime

10% of all contributions and money raised will go to the charity MediCinema to assist with their work.

Big Picture Film Club’s Presh & Urvisha shoot the breeze with the Silver Screen Dudes (AJ & Nico) and Rachael (from Rachael’s Reviews) to talk about upcoming films, going to the cinema, what we’re all watching during lockdown and more!

A unique, stylish, genre-bending neo-noir adventure from cult Canadian indie filmmaker Bruce McDonald (Pontypool, Weirdos) starring Stephen McHattie (Mother!), Henry Rollins (Lost Highway) and Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers). Dreamland immerses the viewer into a diabolical underworld, where doppelgängers, vicious child-traffickers and a creepy vampire cross paths and tells the story of a gang who hires a hitman to cut off a finger from a heroin-addict trumpet maestro. Dreamland is a hypnotic descent into a violent and corrupt world ruled by madness, and yet the evil chaos boiling at the surface is deftly tamed by its elegant cinematography and cool, haunting jazz score.

Watch the trailer below.

Dreamland (Official Trailer)

Dreamland is available on DVD & Digital Download on Monday 13th April 2020

We sat down with the Jenna Suru, writer, director and lead actor in The Golden Age (L’Âge d’Or), a French-language period film about two lovers who head to St Tropez, France in the ’60s to embark on an artistic project.

When The Screaming Starts is a comedy-horror mockumentary about an aspiring, inept serial killer at the beginning of his “career” and a fledgeling documentary filmmaker willing to do anything to achieve his ambition. We sat down with the cast and crew of mockumentary film.

A year on from the release of the pilot season, BWNG Ltd & The British Blacklist returns with Season 2 of The Circle. Executive produced by the respective company’s founders Leon Mayne & Akua Gyamfi, the roundtable series brings together a dynamic group of British Black & Asian visionaries across Television, Film, Streaming & Audio to discuss their journeys, their creative process, the highs and lows, and the future of TV, Film & Digital.

Talent across the new season have current credits on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, CW, Audible, Film4, National Geographic and more.

Living in Crime Alley is the Batman fan film from writer / director, Rob Ayling. The short film follows a single father as he struggles to bring up his child, a huge fan of the dark knight, in downtown Gotham, known to citizens as Crime Alley.

Star Wars: Origins takes a unique look at where it all began. A thrilling action-adventure, this film draws inspiration from both STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES to tell an epic story based on Earth during WWII.

The film described as “the epic fan film that will change the game” comes from award-winning team and life-long Star Wars fans; writer/director Phil Hawkins and Executive Producer Gary Cowan of Velvet Film Production.